Report from Montreal L'Ost de Quebec Winter Medieval Tournament with Team USA

Hi folks. I just got back from the Great White North where our brothers in Quebec hosted an intense weekend of armored medieval mayhem! There was a tournament of single fighters and a tournament of 5 vs 5 bohurts. The competition was held under the unified rules of historic medieval battles, which are the rules established for the Battle of the Nations.

In the bohurts, Team USA fielded two teams, 1 and 2, the first being their top men and the second being everyone else who could make it. They faced L'Ost Du Quebec (Team Quebec), Compangne Medieval, and Skallgrims (Team Ontario).

Team USA is the same organization that went to the Battle of the Nations last year A little less than half the folks who were present were veterans of that adventure, the rest were aspirants to join the team this year. I am a veteran, and was on USA 2 as an alternate. There were 8 men on each bohurt team, 5 starters and two alternates. Each match was best-of-three, and in most cases the alternates were switched in for the second round of each match.

In round-robin competition on the first day, USA 1 went undefeated, and USA 2 only lost to USA 1, thus taking the top two seeds in the elimination round on Sunday. USA 1 took first place, Quebbec the second, USA 2 third, and Skallgrims fourth in the finals.

In singles competition, Team USA entered four fighters, Dan Kitka, Jaye Brooks, Reed Harrig, and myself. Another American, Daniel Stool, entered as an independent. All five of us are SCA veterans, and Jaye and I were part of the team that went to the Battle of the Nations last year.

The singles matches were in three rounds: First, 90 seconds of longsword, most hits wins. Second, sword and buckler, fist three hits wins, best two-of-three. Third, 90 seconds of sword and shield, most hits wins.

Out of 17 fighters entered, Dan Kitka and Daniel Stool both went 2-0 and advanced to the second round. Jaye and Reed both went 1-1, and I went 0-2, but I won both of my longsword fights, and in my second match, I won one round of sword and buckler. This pleases me because many have doubted my skills due to my relatively unremarkable impact as a fighter in the SCA. I give some credit to Scot Ferra, a new teacher I have been working which whom I know through our time with NY Jedi, and to doing kickboxing training in armor. Unfortunately, I have zero experience with sword and buckler, the shield I was using was really smaller than I am used to, and the sword was too heavy, wah, wah, wah, I'l have a cream puff with that whine...and hit the gym harder and practice more often and build a new shield and hold a fundraiser to get a lighter sword.

In the elimination round on Sunday Daniel took fifth place and Dan took fourth.

Overall I am happy with my increased conditioning, though I can always get better. I used to go plop after the first minute of longsword. This time I was more mobile and only plopped in the last 30 seconds of my last sword and shield fight.

I am not so happy with my performance in the bohurts. I did not succeed in taking anyone down unless I went with them, or took them with me. I lost my weapon twice in melee. I was able to stay on my feet longer than some people expected, and was the last man standing twice, but when I had an opportunity to end a bohurt by hitting someone in the legs, I did not succeed. On the other hand, there is some great footage out there of me working the ribs of someone who had me in a clinch like Don Frye on Mark Hall in UFC 10.

Next up: The final national tryouts in Springfield, Illinois on February 8-9!

Here are some highlights of the singles fights shot by my GF and myself and edited by me, with music from Footage Firm...

Disarming is perfectly legal, but it seems to happen more by accident (someone dropping the sword from the shock of impact, losing their grip, fatigue, etc) than by deliberate action.

Swords have to fit certain specifications of weight, thickness, and point radius before they are allowed in battle, and armor must be of certain materials and cover certain parts of the body. Most sword makers and armorers whose stuff is used in these competitions are pretty consistent in their quality, and those whose stuff breaks don't get much business here, so really, stuff does not break in competition much. Leather straps do break and rivets blow out every now and again, so teams frequently bring repair kits with them. You can see the rules (including armor and weapons standards) at https://www.facebook.com/BattleoftheNations/notes

Disarming is perfectly legal, but it seems to happen more by accident (someone dropping the sword from the shock of impact, losing their grip, fatigue, etc) than by deliberate action.

Swords have to fit certain specifications of weight, thickness, and point radius before they are allowed in battle, and armor must be of certain materials and cover certain parts of the body. Most sword makers and armorers whose stuff is used in these competitions are pretty consistent in their quality, and those whose stuff breaks don't get much business here, so really, stuff does not break in competition much. Leather straps do break and rivets blow out every now and again, so teams frequently bring repair kits with them. You can see the rules (including armor and weapons standards) at https://www.facebook.com/BattleoftheNations/notes